A Little Help
by HermioneGirl96
Summary: Lizzie Bennet and Eric Bittle meet at Vidcon and become close friends. The following year brings challenges and joys for both of them, and they help each other through the challenges and celebrate the joys despite living on opposite sides of the country.
1. Summer

**Disclaimer: Ngozi Ukazu owns Eric Bittle and the rest of the Samwell crew, and Hank Green and Bernie Su own this iteration of Lizzie Bennet and company.**

**A/N: This is going to mostly follow canon, except that I'm imagining that the Lizzie Bennet Diaries took place in 2014-2015 to line up with Year 2 of Check Please. **

"Oh my God," says Lizzie, spotting a blond head she recognizes. "Eric Bittle?"

The head turns, and, sure enough, it belongs to the short, 19-year-old baker-slash-hockey-player. His always-large brown eyes get huge. "Lizzie Bennet?" He starts in Lizzie and Charlotte's direction, and it takes a couple seconds for him to notice who's next to her. "And Charlotte Lu, oh my goodness! Where are my manners?" When he reaches the women, he sticks out his hand and shakes Lizzie's hand first, followed by Charlotte's. "It's so great to meet you both, oh my Lord," Eric gushes.

Charlotte cuts a sidelong glance at Lizzie. "Lizzie? Are you gonna tell me who this is and why you know him?"

"Oh, he's a vlogger I follow," says Lizzie, noticing that Eric's eyes get even wider at that. "He's from Georgia, but he goes to college in Massachusetts, and he bakes and plays hockey."

Charlotte frowns. "You don't care about baking _or_ hockey. At all."

Lizzie shrugs. "Maybe not, but Eric is hilarious."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Yes, because you really needed more hilarious vloggers to follow while you procrastinate."

Lizzie gives Charlotte a playful shove. "He updates like twice a month. It's fine."

"Well, it was nice to meet you, but I'll just leave you two alone now," Eric starts to say.

"No!" says Lizzie. "I mean, sure, if you want, but like, I'd love to get to know you."

Charlotte looks at her phone. "And there's a networking event I want to be at that starts in three minutes, so I'm off. Have fun, you two."

Eric watches Charlotte leave before refocusing on Lizzie and saying, "I was wondering if she'd be as hardcore in person as she is in your videos. She totally is."

"Oh yeah," says Lizzie. "She's so driven. She's gonna go _so far_ someday."

"Kind of like Jack," says Eric.

Lizzie nods. "How's that going, anyway? Do you still hate him?"

"No," says Eric. "We're starting to be friends, I think. How about your tall annoyance?"

Lizzie grinds her teeth together. "Still just as much of a tall annoyance as ever, last I saw him. At least he's not here."

Eric nods. "Right." Then he gets his starstruck look again and says, "I had no idea you followed me!"

"Oh yeah," says Lizzie. "I've been following you for a couple years. You feel like some sort of long-distance younger sibling to me at this point, honestly. Like, I was so proud to watch you move all the way to Massachusetts and figure things out in college this year. But how did you find _my_ videos? I've only been vlogging for a few months, and you've been concussed!"

"Yeah, I was only approved to spend a lot of time with screens about a month ago. You can guess how fun it was trying to do all my final projects and papers and exams while concussed, I bet. But summer in Georgia is _boring_, so I've spent a lot of time surfing YouTube, and the family drama in your videos is _priceless_. You make even the Bittles and Phelpses seem tame."

Lizzie snorts. "Yeah, that's what a lot of my fans say. I mean, not about your family, but about their families. You know. But you're doing better, with the concussion? I was worried!"

Eric smiles. "That's sweet. Yes, I'm doing better." Then he sighs. "I know the summer isn't even half over, but I'll be glad to be out of my mother's house when it is, good Lord. The way she's been hovering over me, you'd think I'd nearly died and was still in some sort of danger! I got a concussion in _April_ and it is nearly _July_."

Lizzie makes a face. "Still pretty sure your mom is saner than my mom."

"Oh, I'm not going to argue that," Eric says, laughing. "I'd drink with you to annoying mothers, but that would require a drink."

Lizzie looks around. There's a drinks table at the other end of the ballroom. "I could get us something," she offers.

"Oh my goodness, you could!" says Eric. "I'm not used to being able to get alcohol when I'm not at school. I'm almost surprised you're offering, though. Didn't you once point out that it was illegal for Lydia to go to Carter's?"

Lizzie rolls her eyes and starts heading toward the drinks; Eric follows. "You're more responsible than Lydia."

Eric raises his eyebrows. "You sure? Just because I don't put videos of my drunken escapades on the internet doesn't mean they don't happen."

Lizzie looks considering for a moment and slows down, but then she speeds back up again and says, "_Everyone_ is more responsible than Lydia."

Eric laughs. "Okay, I won't argue with that. I at least don't run with scissors."

Lizzie nods. "Exactly."

When they get close to the drink table, Eric hangs back a bit while Lizzie orders two drinks and shows her ID. When Lizzie rejoins Eric and hands him his drink, he says, "So, what's been your favorite part of Vidcon so far?"

Lizzie takes a sip of her drink before answering. "I really enjoyed hearing from the Greens yesterday. And Hannah Hart is really cool, too. Honestly, everything other than running into Ricky Collins has been pretty incredible."

"Oh my Lord, that's right!" says Eric. "I saw your video from yesterday—that was hilarious!"

Lizzie rolls her eyes. "Easy for you to say. You didn't have to deal with him."

Eric throws back the rest of his drink and says, "Well, you don't have to deal with him right now either. What do you say we hit the dance floor?"

"Oh, I don't really—" Lizzie begins.

Eric puts his hands on his hips. "Are you going to tell me you don't dance, Miss Bennet?" Somehow it sounds different than when Ricky called her that yesterday, less affected and more affectionate. "Because if so, you'd better be prepared for me to teach you."

"Oh my God, you're not allowed to ever meet Lydia," says Lizzie, but she throws back the rest of her drink, leaves her glass next to Eric's on one of the high tables scattered around the room, and follows him onto the dance floor.

OoOoO

Eric wishes Vidcon could last forever, but a few days later he finds himself reluctantly unpacking in his childhood bedroom in Georgia, feeling giddy and overwhelmed by everything that happened in the last few days and, at the same time, deflated to be back at home and know that nothing has changed. He'll go back to camp tomorrow and help out with arts and crafts like he hasn't just been schmoozing with video creators from all over the world.

Right after he puts his clothes in the washing machine, his phone pings with an alert from YouTube. An account he follows just posted a video. He unlocks his phone and sees that it was Lizzie. (Lizzie who he _met_ and who's apparently _followed_ him for _years_, good Lord.) He watches the video right there in the laundry room, frowning at Lizzie's impending homelessness. And then—wow. Staying at Netherfield. Well, that's one solution.

Eric opens his phone contacts once the video is over. He got Lizzie's number after they danced together for several songs on Friday night, but . . . does that really mean he can text her? They're not _friends_. But could they be? Eric thinks he'd like that.

_saw your video_, he texts. _are you okay? _

Yeah, Lizzie replies. I mean, it's going to be hell. But I'll survive. I'll have Jane.

_i don't want to presume anything_, Eric types, _but, if you want, you can talk to me, too._

Don't worry about presuming. That sounds great! comes Lizzie's quick reply. Then: I'm so happy that Bing and Jane are going to get to spend more time together, but I seriously don't know how I'm supposed to endure this much time with Darcy.

Eric bites his lip. From what Lizzie's said about Darcy, it seems like he has a lot in common with Jack. Maybe Darcy just has social anxiety and acts like a jerk because he doesn't know what else to do. Eric's pretty sure that's what Jack was doing at the beginning of the year. At the same time, Lizzie doesn't seem like she'd be receptive to hearing anything positive about Darcy from Eric. Instead, he texts back, _with a little help from your friends?_

Yeah, probably, Lizzie replies.

**A/N: The rest is written, so I should be able to post chapters daily!**


	2. Fall

**Disclaimer: Ngozi Ukazu owns Eric Bittle and the rest of the Samwell crew, and Hank Green and Bernie Su own this iteration of Lizzie Bennet and company.**

**A/N: Remember, this is going to mostly follow canon, except that I'm imagining that the Lizzie Bennet Diaries took place in 2014-2015 to line up with Year 2 of Check Please. **

Eric has just walked out of his awful impromptu meeting with Hall and Murray to cry on the steps of Faber when his phone starts buzzing the way it does when he has an incoming call. He pulls it out of his pocket, fully intending to reject his mother's inopportune attempt to contact him, but it's not his mother; it's Lizzie. And she's someone he actually wouldn't mind talking to right now about this, so he picks up.

He knows his voice is choked up and barely better than a sob when he says, "Hey," but he's hoping that'll work in his favor and garner him some much-needed sympathy. He's only talked to Lizzie on the phone once since Vidcon, when things got especially frustrating at Netherfield, but they text most days, though there's been a little less of that since Lizzie was able to move back into her own house. All in all, it's been shockingly easy to fall into a close friendship, probably because they share the combination of intense public vulnerability in the form of vlogging with a sort of anonymity born of only having met once in real life.

"Hi," says Lizzie, and it sounds like she's crying, too. "Sorry, is this a bad time?"

"Does everything suck?" Eric asks, trying to inject some levity into his wobbly voice. "Absolutely. But I have some time, so go ahead."

"Sorry, you don't need to deal with me right now."

"No, seriously, go ahead," says Eric. "It would be nice to talk to someone who's not connected to hockey right now. I kind of want to talk about what's going on here, too, if that's all right—assuming nobody's died on your end, because in that case you would absolutely have permission to dominate the conversation—but you can go first."

"If you're sure," says Lizzie.

"I am," Eric replies.

"Okay. I think Charlotte just friend-broke up with me, and it's all my fault. The video's going up tomorrow, but basically she took the job with Ricky Collins and I accused her of selling out."

"That sounds like something you can fix," says Eric.

"You don't understand," Lizzie insists. "I berated her. I said horrible things about Ricky Collins, and the job she's taking, and what those things mean about Charlotte."

"And you're still going to put up the video?" Eric asks dubiously. He's not crying so much anymore.

Lizzie sighs on the other end of the line. "It's called the Lizzie Bennet _Diaries_ for a reason. Charlotte knew the camera was on, and she knew I was going to post the video, so it's not even like what happened with Bing."

"I suppose," says Eric. "Are you going to apologize?"

"I don't know _how_," Lizzie whines. "I really did mean what I said, you know? I do think she's selling out, and I am mad that she's leaving me, and I do hate Ricky Collins."

Eric shrugs even though he knows Lizzie can't see him. "If you're sure."

"I'm not," Lizzie admits. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do anything about this."

"I don't know how to help you, then," says Eric.

"That's okay," says Lizzie. "It helps just to talk to someone who's not here in the thick of it, you know? I'm sure Jane is going to start hovering any minute now, but that kind of makes her harder to talk to, and of course I'd never want to talk to Lydia about something serious."

"Right," says Eric.

"Now, you said you wanted to talk to someone who doesn't play hockey?" Lizzie asks.

"Oh, right," says Eric. "So, my coaches are talking about kicking me off my team."

"Seriously?!" Lizzie half-shouts. "But you won that award last year! I thought you were doing so well!"

"I can't take a check," Eric admits. "It's like it was at the beginning of the season last year. Jack helped me through it, then, and I got better, but now it's worse than ever, probably because of that check at the end of last season. And now Jack's a senior, and I just don't know if he's going to have the time or inclination to help me again, you know? I know we were starting to be friends at the end of last year, but he came into the bathroom while I was showering a few days ago to tell me to stop singing, and that's basically all the interaction we've had since I moved in two weeks ago. I could see him deciding that four a.m. checking practice isn't worth his time for a second year running."

"Maybe," says Lizzie. "Do you think you could ask him for help to see what he says?"

Eric sighs. "You haven't met Jack Zimmermann. One does not simply ask him for help."

"Shower incident aside, are you sure an ancient meme reference is your best course of action here?"

Eric groans. "I suppose I can ask Jack for help. But I want you to think about ways to apologize to Charlotte. If you think the problem is your fault, there must be some way for you to apologize, even if you stand by a lot of the things you said."

"Fine," Lizzie agrees. Then she says, "Oh—Jane just walked in. Do you mind if I go?"

"Sure, that's okay," says Eric. He feels somewhat better when he hangs up than he had when the phone rang, and he sets off in search of Jack to ask for more checking practice.

OoOoO

Lizzie and Eric don't talk on the phone again for another couple of months. Lizzie doesn't find a way to apologize to Charlotte, mostly because Charlotte isn't taking her calls—she only knows any of what's going on in Charlotte's life from Charlotte's Twitter and a few texts from Maria—but Eric texts to let her know that Jack agreed to help with checking practice, so that's something, at least. Lizzie and Charlotte make up eventually in spite of Lizzie's initial inability to apologize, and Lizzie goes to visit Charlotte at Collins & Collins.

Then, of course, Darcy shows up with his friend Fitz in tow, and things go from regular-weird to awkward-weird to truly and utterly mind-boggling over the course of about two weeks, and suddenly Lizzie needs to talk to someone who hasn't just watched the whole situation unfold, so she calls Eric.

"Hey, I just got out of class," says Eric when he picks up. "What's going on?"

"I need a source of sanity right now," says Lizzie. "The entire world has just lost its mind and also I think I just set myself up for a lawsuit."

"Well, Shitty's not a lawyer yet, so I'm not sure what I can do about the lawsuit, but what kind of world-toppling things have been happening? Does this have anything to do with your tall annoyance, or is it Charlotte?"

"It's not Charlotte. Darcy just came in here—I'm at the Collins & Collins offices—and said that, against his better judgment and the wishes of his family, he's in love with me," Lizzie explains.

"What?!" Eric yells into the phone, but then he says, ". . . Actually, never mind, that makes total sense."

"In what _universe_ does it make total sense?" Lizzie demands.

"I think Darcy probably has social anxiety," Eric says. "Jack was a real jerk when I first met him, and it turned out he was just anxious. I think Darcy might be the same way. And I'm not trying to excuse the way he announced his feelings, because obviously that was really tactless and hurtful to you, but like, given the way you've talked about him acting up until now, it makes sense that he's been secretly in love with you this whole time."

"What?" Lizzie demands. "Why would anyone—"

"Because people's brains work differently," says Eric in his most patient voice, which Lizzie honestly finds a bit annoying.

"That does not mean he gets to list off a checklist for what a woman needs to do in order to be 'accomplished' and tell me my family is horrible in the course of declaring his love for me," she argues.

"Of course not," says Eric. "He was wrong to do those things. I'm just saying I can believe he's been struggling with his feelings."

"Ugh, fine," says Lizzie.

"So what was that about a lawsuit?"

"Oh, right. He was confused about why I was turning him down, so I told him to watch my videos."

"Oh," says Eric. "I'd ask if you think that was a good idea, but if you're worried about a lawsuit I'm guessing you've realized that it wasn't."

"Pretty much," says Lizzie. "What do I do now?"

"I think all you can do is wait," says Eric. "Listen, I just got to the Haus and Dex and Nursey are having a screaming match, so I think I need to go, but good luck with everything!"

"Thanks, Eric. Good luck to you, too," says Lizzie before hanging up.


	3. Winter Part 1

**Disclaimer: Ngozi Ukazu owns Eric Bittle and the rest of the Samwell crew, and Hank Green and Bernie Su own this iteration of Lizzie Bennet and company.**

**A/N: Remember, this is going to mostly follow canon, except that I'm imagining that the Lizzie Bennet Diaries took place in 2014-2015 to line up with Year 2 of Check Please. **

Lizzie sees Eric's latest vlog—the first one in a while—and her heart breaks for him. "Never fall for a straight boy," he says, covering his face and crying on-camera.

She texts him as soon as she's done watching the video: Are you okay?

_oh, you saw the vlog,_ Eric replies. _i'm fine. i've been here before. _

Do you want to talk about it?

Lizzie's phone rings. When she picks up, Eric says, "It's really nice being friends with you. Like, you're one of my followers, but also we've met and we're actually friends and I follow your vlog too, so we're kind of on equal footing. I think you're the only person I actually consider a friend who isn't affiliated with the Samwell Men's Hockey team, actually. Which might mean that you're the only person I can talk to about this."

"Oh, is your crush on a teammate?" Lizzie asks, a little surprised.

"It's Jack," Eric replies. "I was teaching him how to bake yesterday, and he's just so charming and kind and impressive and—ugh, just, everything I want in a boyfriend, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense. That's kind of how I felt when I met George, but you actually know Jack, so he's unlikely to turn out to be a slimeball."

"George turned out to be a slimeball?" Eric asks. "When did that happen? Did I miss a video?"

"Oh, oops," says Lizzie, a little embarrassed. "That was in the part of Darcy's letter that I didn't talk about on-screen. I need you to keep it a secret, okay?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Eric agrees. "Can you tell me what he did?"

"Not really." Lizzie sighs. "But if Darcy's telling the truth, and I think he is, George is definitely not a good person."

"Noted," says Eric.

"Anyway, sorry to derail the conversation," says Lizzie. "Do you want to say more about Jack?"

"Can I, actually? I literally can't talk to anyone else about this. I mean, I guess I could, but that would be a good way to make things really awkward really quickly."

"Yeah, for sure, go ahead," says Lizzie.

"I think my favorite thing about Jack—actually, no, I can't pick one favorite thing about Jack. But something I really love is the way he's willing to do just about anything to help a teammate or a friend. He's gotten up at four a.m. with me twice a week most of this semester to help me with checking. And we have this class together and he's such a good student, oh my Lord. I could never focus the way he does. And somehow he always gets all the readings done, even though he's trying to figure out an NHL team to play for and captain the team and pass his other classes and everything. And he's such a good captain. He's so good at motivating all of us, and he plays amazing hockey, obviously, and he always spots exactly what each of us needs to work on in order to improve. And I know it's shallow, but he's also so handsome. I mean, obviously there's his ass, but I also love his eyes and his cheekbones and his arms and just—everything."

"You sound pretty far gone," Lizzie comments.

"Ugh, don't remind me," groans Eric. "He's straight and I don't have a chance but he's just so great and I can't help _wanting_, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," says Lizzie. Then Jane walks into the room, and Lizzie says, "Sorry, Jane's here, so I should probably go. It was nice to talk to you!"

"Nice to talk to you, too!" Eric replies, and the line goes dead.

OoOoO

It's not even Christmas, let alone New Year's Eve, but Eric is already prepared to declare the holidays a letdown. He's been texting the SMH group chat, of course, but there's only so much solace to be had there. Most people seem to be having an amazing time with their families, and, while Shitty hates his father, he doesn't seem to have any shame or confusion mixed up with that hatred. Eric, on the other hand, doesn't hate his parents. He still thinks his mother might be his best friend, though it's getting harder to convince himself to apply that label to someone he doesn't think he can come out to. He just doesn't know how to be the person his parents expect him to be, or even the person they think he currently is.

Also, he'd started considering himself pretty close with Jack, and in a different world maybe he'd be calling Jack about how hard it is to be in Georgia, but now he has no idea how to talk to Jack post-Epikegster. He can't be sure he remembers everything correctly, given the amount of tub juice he drank that night, but he thinks he heard Jack and Kent having an argument and Kent saying he missed Jack. And, combined with what Ransom and Holster said about _fanfiction_ and _rumors_, he has to wonder if there were . . . undercurrents to what Kent said. If indeed Eric remembers what he heard correctly at all. And if there were undercurrents . . . if Jack isn't straight . . .

And then there's the fact that Shitty said Jack treated Kent the way he used to treat Eric, along with that use of the word _jealous_. (Again, this is assuming Eric's drunk memories are correct.) Eric's pretty sure that Shitty just meant Jack wanted to achieve the hockey accomplishments that Kent had already achieved before the first time he visited Samwell, but if Jack used to treat Eric the way he also treated his ex, does that mean something? Surely it can't. Can it?

When Eric sees Lizzie's latest video, and then Lydia's related "Dear Lizzie" post, he decides to shoot Lizzie a text: _saw your video. it looks like things suck. :( why do we even have holidays in the first place?_

They give us something to look forward to.

_yeah, and then they don't live up to our expectations, and it's worse than if we'd never had anything to look forward to at all_.

Honestly, you're right. We should do away with holidays. Also families, while we're at it.

_oh my lord, yes. (don't tell my mother i said that.)_

Eric is a little surprised when his phone rings a few seconds after sending the text. "Hey," he says when he picks up.

"Hi," says Lizzie. "What's up with your family?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," says Eric. "Lamenting that I don't have a girlfriend, homophobic jokes about people on the news, that sort of thing. And that's just my parents. I'm dreading seeing my Moomaw now that I've realized how racist she is. I didn't even notice a lot of this stuff before I went to college, and I didn't think most of the rest of it was bad, even the stuff that hurt me. I just thought everyone else was right and, if I disagreed, then I was wrong. I wouldn't trade my college experience for the world, of course, and I'm grateful to the guys for showing me how unconditional love is supposed to work, but that just makes me realize how much I don't have that here, with my family. And the hardest part is that I do still love them, and I want them to love me and even love my friends, you know? I want the people I love to be people I'm proud of, and I want them to be people who would treat my friends well, and I don't think that's how things are right now."

"Yeah, that's hard," Lizzie says. "Families are hard to love sometimes."

"Yeah, that video Lydia made was pretty harsh," Eric agrees.

"Right?!" says Lizzie. "I can't believe Jane thinks _I_ need to apologize to _Lydia_."

"Can't you?" Eric asks, wondering how thin the ice is under him and whether it'll crack. "You did give her unsolicited advice as a birthday present on camera."

"Given the birthweek she put me through, I think the advice was well warranted," Lizzie retorts.

"I'm not saying she didn't need to hear it," Eric contends. "But I'm wondering if that was the best _way_ for her to hear it. On camera. As a present."

"If I'd wanted the hard questions, I would have called Charlotte," Lizzie grumbles. "Can you just distract me? Talk about Jack or something? Or—didn't you say in your latest vlog that you overheard something that you weren't supposed to overhear?"

"I did," Eric says, "and it has to do with Jack. But I can't tell you any more than that."

Lizzie's quiet for a moment. "I want to ask for details," she says eventually, "but I didn't give you any about George Wickham and you didn't press me on that, so I won't."

"Thanks," says Eric.

A voice calls up the stairs, "Eric!" It's his mother. She probably wants his help with some baking for the holidays.

Eric covers the bottom half of his phone with his hand and calls back, "One minute, Mama!" Then he uncovers that half of the phone and says, "Sorry, my mother's calling me. Mind if I go?"

"Sure," says Lizzie. "Thanks for talking. I always feel better when I talk to you."

"The feeling is mutual," says Eric, and then he hangs up.


	4. Winter Part 2

**Disclaimer: Ngozi Ukazu owns Eric Bittle and the rest of the Samwell crew, and Hank Green and Bernie Su own this iteration of Lizzie Bennet and company.**

Eric's in class when his phone starts vibrating with an incoming call. He ignores it the first time, but then it rings again, so he pulls it out of his bag and checks the called ID. When he sees that both calls have been from Lizzie, he stands, gathers his things, and slips out of the lecture hall. Lizzie doesn't call often, and the only other time she's called without texting first was after her big fight with Charlotte. That wasn't exactly an _emergency_, and he isn't sure that this is one either, but calling twice seems just out-of-character enough that he feels compelled to check.

The phone has gone to voicemail by the time Eric makes it into the hallway, so he calls Lizzie back and says, "Lizzie! What's going on?" as soon as she picks up.

"Oh my God, the sky is falling," says Lizzie. "I know I get dramatic a lot, but I'm not kidding at all this time. I'm at the airport, and my flight home starts boarding soon, and I have way too much nervous energy right now."

"Why are you going home?" Eric asks, his own nervousness crawling up from his stomach to his chest and throat.

"Because George Wickham has been dating Lydia, and now he's set up a website asking for subscriptions to a sex tape with her in it." Lizzie's voice is flat in a way that's somehow much more worrying than sobs would be.

"Oh my Lord," says Eric, feeling like he's about to throw up. "That's awful."

"I'd say I have no idea how he talked her into this," Lizzie says, "but I know him. I know how charming he can be, and I've heard Gigi's story too, and it's actually not even that surprising. I just wish I'd been a better sister. I haven't even talked to Lydia since Christmas! If I'd been talking to her, or watching her videos, I could have warned her." She sighs. "You told me I was messing up with Lydia. You can say, 'I told you so.'"

"Oh my goodness, honey, I would never," says Eric. "This sucks for all of you, all the way around. I don't wish it on any of you, and certainly not for such a petty reason as proving a point."

"Thanks," says Lizzie. "I just feel so bad. If I'd watched Lydia's videos, I would have known she was with George."

"And if she'd watched your videos, she would have heard Gigi's story," Eric replies. "And that doesn't make it Lydia's fault, or yours, at all. George is the one who did bad things here. This is his fault."

"Maybe," Lizzie mutters. "God, I'm so grateful to Darcy. George makes me want to give up on men, but then Darcy reminds me that some of them aren't terrible after all."

"Huh?" says Eric. "Why?"

"Oh, right, I haven't posted what happened yet," Lizzie says. "I was with Darcy when I got Charlotte's call about the sex tape, and he booked my flight and got his driver to take me to the airport."

"That is sweet," Eric agrees. "It's nice to have friends who have money."

"Friends," says Lizzie derisively. "Yeah."

"What?" Eric asks, confused by her tone.

"Just, one does not simply consider oneself friends with William Darcy."

"You don't get to make ancient meme references if you're not going to let me make ancient meme references," Eric points out. "And what do you mean, you aren't friends with Darcy? You think he'd book you a flight and a ride if he didn't like you?"

Lizzie sighs. "I do think he likes me, but . . . I think it's more complicated than that. Anyway, none of this matters. My baby sister is in a sex tape that's supposed to become public in two weeks."

"Yeah," says Eric. "That's definitely the bigger deal here."

"Okay, my flight is boarding. Can I call you again soonish, though? I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be pretty hard."

Eric thinks about his hockey schedule and his classes and bites down a sigh. Being a good friend is at least as important as hockey or class. "Yeah, for sure," he says.

"Thanks," says Lizzie, and then she hangs up.

OoOoO

It's late afternoon when Lizzie gets home, but it feels like her morning interview with Darcy was several weeks ago. She asks her parents where Lydia is, and her mother says, "She's been seeing a lot of that lovely swimmer lately. Hopefully soon they'll be making tiny swimmers of their own," and Lizzie wants to vomit. She's been calling Lydia all day, but Lydia hasn't been picking up, which has Lizzie really, really worried. She calls Charlotte, but Charlotte has a meeting with de Burgh that can't be put off, so she can only talk for a few minutes.

After talking to Charlotte, Lizzie sets up her camera in the den because it has the best view of the hallway to the stairs, and then she paces for a while, because she wants to get out her nervous energy but she feels like she shouldn't leave the house. She's not sure there's anyone she can call right now—she's already called Eric today, and she doesn't want to call Jane unless she has to, since fashion week is coming up, and, whatever Eric may have said about quoting ancient memes, one does not simply call William Darcy. Hopefully she can talk Lydia out of posting the sex tape, and everything will be okay by nightfall. She comforts herself with the idea that she can make Lydia see sense, and she films a bit of intro and plays some games on her phone while waiting for Lydia to get home.

And then Lydia gets home, and it turns out she never consented to the sex tape.

After Lydia runs to her room, Lizzie waits outside the door for a few minutes and asks Lydia to let her in, but, when that fails, she steps outside to take a walk while she calls Jane. Jane agrees to come home right away, but she says she has some logistics to take care of first, and she hangs up after only a few minutes. Lizzie doesn't want to go home right away, but she also doesn't want to be alone with her thoughts. Charlotte doesn't answer her text, so that leaves Eric.

"Hey," comes Eric's familiar accent when he picks up. "I was wondering if you'd call again. How are you? How's Lydia?"

"Lydia didn't consent to the sex tape," Lizzie says.

"Oh my Lord," says Eric faintly. "Oh my goodness, that is . . . oh my Lord."

"Pretty much," says Lizzie. "She ran to her room and I haven't seen or heard from her since. I just called Jane, and she's coming home. I can't imagine that's good for her career—it's almost fashion week—but sometimes family is more important. I've managed not to tell our parents yet. I don't know how long that will last. I honestly hate the thought of telling either of them. Dad would be ashamed and Mom just wouldn't get it, I think."

"It sounds like you're trying to manage a lot right now," Eric observes. "Which parts are actually your responsibility?"

"I'm the only one currently in the correct city who knows what's going on and isn't the immediate victim here, so I think it's all on my plate."

"I know it feels that way, and maybe that's true for now," says Eric, "but can you share some of the responsibility once Jane arrives?"

Lizzie sighs. "Maybe. I'm still the one who brought George into our lives, though, and I'm the one who pushed Lydia away."

"This again?" Eric asks. "You know this isn't your fault, honey."

"No, I don't know that, because it is my fault," insists Lizzie.

"It's _George's_ fault," Eric insists. "Seriously, Shitty would give you an entire lecture right now if he could hear you. Men who exploit vulnerable women are to blame for the abuse in those relationships. The women being exploited are not at fault."

"What about the women who contribute to other women's vulnerability in the first place?" Lizzie asks.

Eric sighs. "You're still not responsible for George."

"I'm not convinced, but thanks for trying," says Lizzie. "I just feel so awful, you know? I pushed Lydia out of my life when she needed someone to be around for her. I didn't speak to her for weeks, and I didn't watch her videos or try to keep up with her life at all. I had to find out about the sex tape from _Charlotte_, who's not even related to us! Like, I love Charlotte, and she's practically family, but she's not actually one of my sisters, and she shouldn't need to look out for Lydia when I'm not even willing to do that."

"That makes sense, and it's real," says Eric. "But regret can only be useful if you use it to make sure you do better going forward."

"You're wise beyond your years," says Lizzie. Just then, her phone starts buzzing with an incoming call from Charlotte. "Sorry, Charlotte's calling. I'll talk to you some other time, okay? Thanks for taking my call."

"No problem," says Eric. "I hope things get better."

"Thanks. So do I," Lizzie says, and then she accepts Charlotte's call and drops Eric's.


	5. Spring

**Disclaimer: Ngozi Ukazu owns Eric Bittle and the rest of the Samwell crew, and Hank Green and Bernie Su own this iteration of Lizzie Bennet and company.**

The sex tape website comes down, Bing and Jane reunite, and Lizzie finds out from Lydia that Darcy was the one who got the website taken down. She texts Eric through all of it, and they talk on the phone somewhat more than usual while things are bad, but once things start improving Eric begins to let on just how much of his time hockey is eating up, and then the phone calls stop. The texts continue, though, and that's nice.

After Darcy shows up, Lizzie is a bit too busy and overwhelmed by her feelings to do anything but make out with Darcy and post her video featuring Darcy's entrance. She feels a bit evil for leaving her viewers on such a cliffhanger (and this isn't even the first time she's done that to them where Darcy is concerned), but she has a practical reason for the choice, as well as just a mischievous reason: she probably won't feel like filming again for quite a while, if she has Darcy here to distract her, and this way she has footage for another update as well.

She forgets to factor in the fact that both she and Darcy have people in their lives who will be finding out about certain events from the video update and will not be pleased with having to wait for the next video. Gigi starts texting, calling, and tweeting at Darcy incessantly, and Lizzie's fielding calls and texts from Jane and Eric. She calls Jane first, of course, and they have a long, happy, gushy conversation, but when that's finally over she calls Eric as well.

"Elizabeth Bennet!" Eric scolds over the phone. "I thought we were friends!"

"We . . . are?" says Lizzie, wondering if she miscalculated or if Eric's overreacting.

"Oh, sorry, honey. I forget that just because we're close to the same age doesn't mean I can chirp you like I do with the guys. I was just being dramatic," says Eric.

"Okay, good," says Lizzie.

"But really," Eric continues, "you call me any time something goes wrong, so I do not understand why I have to find out about something going right from your vlog of all places."

"I've been a little . . . busy?" Lizzie tries. "With Darcy?"

"Well, I do not want deets on anything y'all may or may not have been doing; I'm not Holster," says Eric. "But things are good?"

"Things are very good," Lizzie confirms. "Darcy's taken a couple weeks off so that he can be here with me. Bing is letting him stay at Netherfield, and I spent last night there too, and we're really happy, and I think this is going to last."

"That's great," says Eric, but suddenly he sounds a little sad.

"What's wrong?" Lizzie asks.

"Oh, nothing. It's silly," says Eric.

"Eric, no it's not," says Lizzie. "Come on, tell me. As long as you can tell me without, like, breaking someone's trust."

"We're good on that front," Eric says. "I'm just sad that Jack and Shitty are graduating, is all. It's getting to be so soon, you know? Shitty just got into Harvard Law, and Jack is leaning toward the Providence Falconers, so it's likely they'll both be close by, but it still won't be the same as playing hockey with them every day or living with them in the Haus. I trust Shitty to visit, and I want to say the same about Jack, but he's going to be rich and famous all of a sudden, and I know he's kind of already been rich and famous his whole life, but I think it'll feel different to him when it's because of things he's done and not because of things his parents have done, and I'm worried he's going to forget all about us once he's in the NHL."

"That really doesn't sound like it's in line with everything you've told me about Jack," says Lizzie. "He got up at four a.m. twice a week last semester to help you get over your block with checking. He sounds like a really good guy. And like you just said, he's been rich and famous his whole life. I don't think being in the NHL will make him forget you."

"I don't know if I believe you," Eric says, "but thanks."

"You're welcome," says Lizzie.

Darcy pokes his head in the door of the room she's in and whispers, "I'm done talking to Gigi."

Lizzie nods at Darcy and then says to Eric, "Darcy wants to, um, talk to me. Can we leave this here?"

Eric laughs. "Sure. Have a nice 'talk.'"

OoOoO

Hockey consumes Eric's life right up until that devastating loss, and then it's a matter of passing his classes and helping Jack pick a team and trying not to fall apart from the knowledge that Jack and Shitty will be leaving soon. He doesn't call Lizzie at all during this time, but they do text a lot, and he appreciates having her as a constant in his life. Plus, the ability to keep in touch with her for nearly a year after meeting her in person gives him hope that he'll be able to maintain his friendships with Jack and Shitty once they graduate, though sometimes it's hard to really believe that when it comes to Jack.

And then graduation happens, and Jack kisses him, and Eric feels like he's floating. Jack promises to text him, but there's only one text in the half-hour it takes for Eric to finish packing up and get to the student union, where the shuttle will come to take him to the airport. The text says, _I miss you already_, so it's not completely disappointing, but Eric hopes more communication is forthcoming, because he wants a relationship with communication, and right now he's actually not even sure if he has a relationship at all.

A Skype call that night clears up that yes, Jack wants a relationship, so Eric asks who he can tell. Jack says he's only planning on telling his parents for now, but they'll tell the guys at some point; Eric says he's still not ready to come out to his parents, but could he tell his closest non-hockey friend? Knowing that Eric met Lizzie through vlogging makes Jack a little nervous, but Eric explains that Lizzie doesn't vlog anymore and absolutely understands how to keep a secret, and Jack agrees that Eric can tell her.

So, late that night, Eric calls Lizzie, taking some solace in the fact that she's three hours behind him so it's not particularly late for her.

"Eric!" Lizzie says when she picks up. "How are you?"

"I'm really great, actually," says Eric. "But if I tell you why, you can't tell _anyone_."

"I can keep a secret, I promise," says Lizzie.

"I know," says Eric. "That's why I'm allowed to tell you." He takes a deep breath and then says, "Jack kissed me right after the graduation ceremony, and we just Skyped and decided to be boyfriends. Jack's not out, so we're not even telling the team yet, but since you don't really run in those circles we decided it would be safe for you to know."

"Well, I'm honored that you trust me," says Lizzie earnestly. "And I'm really happy for you! It's so great that the guy you've liked for ages likes you back!"

"Yeah," says Eric, smiling broadly. "It is great."

"I can't believe we both wound up dating our tall annoyances," Lizzie observes. "And I especially can't believe that it took you longer to get together with yours than it took me to get together with mine. You and Jack were already starting to be friends by the time I met you at Vidcon, and I hated Darcy until November!"

Eric sighs. "Well, I think being queer had something to do with it. I'm guessing Jack would've made a move a lot sooner if he hadn't been concerned about what coming out would do to his career, and I would've flirted harder with him if I hadn't worried about what it would do to our friendship for me to flirt with him while he was straight."

"Oh," says Lizzie. "I hadn't thought of that. That makes total sense, now that you mention it. Sorry."

"It's okay," says Eric. "I mean, like, societally, it's not, and heteronormativity sucks, but I'm not going to hold it against you in particular."

"Thanks," says Lizzie. "Do you want to gush about Jack?"

"Oh my goodness, I always want to gush about Jack," says Eric. "And you're the only person I can gush to, so I hope you're prepared for a lot of gushing. After graduation, when I ran out of excuses to linger around with the Zimmermanns, I went back to the Haus to finish packing up all my stuff. And I may have been crying, just a little bit, and I had my headphones in, and I was singing Beyonce like usual, so I didn't hear Jack come in. And then all of a sudden he's there, tapping me on the shoulder, and I ask if he's all right because he's all out of breath, and he just says my name a couple times and then kisses me, and we kiss for a bit and his phone keeps going off, so he says he has to go and he'll text me, and then he's gone!" Eric takes what feels like his first breath in a while. "But then we did text, and then we Skyped, and now we're boyfriends, and everything is good."

"Everything _is_ good," Lizzie agrees, and she starts filling Eric in on what she's doing now that she has her degree and is starting her own company.

Eric and Lizzie say good night when Eric can't stop yawning, but Eric knows it's only goodbye-for-now, same as it was with Jack and Shitty earlier today. Friendships may have lifespans, but what he has with Jack, and with Shitty, and with Lizzie—those things have life in them yet and will for a long time to come.


End file.
